Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis considers the career of Lord Palmerston during the important, but hitherto rather neglected, period of his political career immediately preceding his accession to the premiership in 1855, in a broader context than has previously been attempted. By combining a high political, that is governmental, approach to the question with what might be termed a low one - essentially all non-governmental factors - the reasons for Palmerston's supposed political invincibility, or at least longevity, can be more clearly understood. Such a focus simultaneously reveals a great deal about the nature and working of the Victorian constitution and the political influence of parts of the population traditionally regarded as falling beyond its pale. Through an examination of political manoeuvring in government, making extensive use of private papers, this thesis demonstrates the extent and ways in which Palmerston was able to exercise an influence over and manipulate his Cabinet colleagues, thereby securing their approbation for his foreign policy at a time when there were great pressures from the Crown and Parliament to remove him. The analysis is followed though to the history of the Aberdeen Coalition (1852-55) to explain why Palmerston came to be allied with many of his former adversaries in the first place and secondly how he managed, from his official post at the Home Office, to continue to wield great influence over the conduct of foreign policy - a question of special importance given that it was this government which was faced with the problem of managing the Crimean War. It is clear, however, that personal and party political relationships are incomplete means by which to explain Palmerston's career and elucidate the general theme of the politics of foreign policy. Palmerston's political strength rested to a large extent on the rather nebulous perception that he was 'popular', carrying with him the support of the country and embodying the mood of the nation. Public opinion, generally conceived, had a profound and complicated impact on politics during this period, particularly on Palmerston, yet this is an aspect of Palmerston's political life rarely examined by historians. It is in this thesis' attempts to underpin an account of political life at the centre with an analysis of political forces and influences beyond that a great deal of the work's originality is to be found. Examination of the role of the press, various forms of extra-parliamentary opposition (and support) across all social classes, and parliamentary opposition, including not only on what grounds were attacks made but why and with what effect, add a unique contribution to our understanding of Palmerstonianism and demonstrate the success and considerable good fortune Palmerston enjoyed in manipulating political life to his own ends.

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This thesis assesses the outcomes of the 1957 and 1963 Conservative Party Leadership Selections of Harold Macmillan and Sir Alec Douglas-Home. It analyses the two selections using an original analytical framework, that demonstrates the importance of both individual and situational criteria in determining the outcomes of leadership selections. The individual criteria are the party status of the candidates, and their actions and conduct during the selections. The situational criteria are the situation and circumstances surrounding the selections, the formal and informal aspects of the selection procedure used, and the candidates fulfilment of acceptability, electability, and governability. Acceptability, (the need to retain or maintain party unity), electability, (the need to be electable), and governability, (the ability to govern), are the three core situational criteria on which the candidates are judged. This framework was developed to offer a full and inclusive explanation of the outcomes of the two leadership selections, because the existing analyses of leadership selections has a restrictive approach, and does not offer a conclusive and systematic analysis. The thesis demonstrates that the outcomes of the 1957 and 1963 leadership selections have clear parallels and distinctions in their outcomes. Both selections produced a stop-gap leader in a time of crisis for the Conservative Party. However, the situations were clearly distinct, and this was influential in the outcome. The 1957 selection occurred following a crisis over foreign policy, while the 1963 selection occurred during a deep-seated period of domestic crisis and upheaval. In January 1957, the Conservatives had three years before a general election had to be held, while in October 1963, a general election was imminent within twelve months. The selection procedure was influential in both selections. The informal aspects of the procedure were more influential in 1957, while the procedure had become more formalised in 1963, and this prepared the way for the establishment of formal leadership elections in the Conservative Party in 1965. The choice of Macmillan and Home was made because of the circumstances in which the selections occurred, and because they fulfilled the three core criteria more conclusively than the other candidates. In both outcomes, acceptability was clearly the most important core criteria because the selections occurred at a time of severe disunity in the party, and this deemed party unity as the crucial task of the new leader. In 1957, Macmillan was selected as he fulfilled the requirements of the situation better than R. A. Butler, the other candidate. In 1963, Home became leader because of the weaknesses apparent in the other candidates, and was the compromise candidate to retain party unity. This thesis concludes that the wider individual and situational criteria set the terms of reference on which the core situational criteria of acceptability, electability, and governability are judged. The most important wider criteria were the candidates' actions during the selection, the selection procedure, and the situation that the selection occurred in. This demonstrates the utility of the analytical framework developed in the study.

This Thesis describes the epidemiology of schizophrenia and related disorders in the defined catchment area of Camberwell, SE London, UK, over the period 1965 to 1984. Cases were ascertained through the comprehensive Camberwell Cumulative Psychiatric Case Register. All first-contact patients with a Register diagnosis of any non-affective non-organic psychotic illness were included in the study. Diagnostic uniformity was ensured by rediagnosis of all cases (n=531) using the computerised OCCPI system, which facilitates rediagnosis according to a wide range of diagnostic criteria. Trends in the incidence of non-affective functional psychoses over the two decades during which the Camberwell Register was operational, are explored. The findings, of a rising rate of illness in Camberwell, are discussed in terms of changes in the demography of the general population over the years, and suggestions offered for discrepancies with other studies of time trends in schizophrenia, particular emphasis being placed on changes in the ethnic composition of Camberwell over this period. A case-control study design is used to explore whether the rising incidence of the illness in the area is due solely or largely to drift into the area of ill individuals, or whether some of the variance can be explained in terms of a pernicious inner-city effect operating during early development (in utero or in early childhood). The findings of an excess of schizophrenia patients actually having been born in the inner city suggests that something about poor households in the inner city might predispose to the illness in later life. This is discussed in the general framework of the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia, which proposes that at least some individuals have a form of illness consequent upon subtle damage to the developing brain. A major focus of the analyses is gender differences in schizophrenia, and late onset schizophrenia. Early-onset males were particularly likely to fulfil stringent diagnostic criteria for the illness, and to show premorbid dysfunction. The results are interpreted in the neurodevelopmental framework, and reference made to differences in male and female brains in their vulnerability to neurodevelopmental illnesses in general. Taking this theme forward, a form of factor analysis called latent class analysis is used to further explore the notion of different subtypes of schizophrenia, one of which is an early-onset severe male-predominant form (theoretically consequent upon neurodevelopmental deviance). The analyses resulted in a "best fit" model of three subtypes, one an early-onset male-predominant type associated with premorbid dysfunction ("neurodevelopmental" type); a later-onset "paranoid" type; and an affect-laden type exclusive to females ("schizoaffective" type). There were associations with a number of variables of potential importance in terms of aetiology, namely an association of the "neurodevelopmental" type with a family history of schizophrenia and obstetric complications; an association of the "paranoid" type with winter birth; and of the "affective" type with a family history of psychiatric disorder other than schizophrenia (predominantly affective disorder). This typology does not adequately account for those patients with a late (over 45 years), or very-late onset of illness (over 60). Phenomenological, premorbid, and other differences between early- and late-onset patients are analysed, and the results discussed in the broader framework of the literature on late-onset non-affective psychoses.

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This is not a biography: the lack of any substantial collection of private papers relating to Wheatley would make a biography almost impossible. It is rather a study of the Labour Movement and of Wheatley's contribution to it. There is a natural break in 1922 when Wheatley and many of his Clydeside colleagues were elected to Parliament. Before that date Wheatley was involved in local politics; after that date national politics predominate.

This thesis seeks to identify patterns between various pre-Christian and early Christian sites situated in the pre-Reformation landscape. Scotland, and the west in particular, is distinctly lacking in documentary evidence when compared to other areas in the British Isles – there is unfortunately no Scottish equivalent of the Domesday Book. However, human activity leaves evidence in the form of actual sites or memories and traditions of those that have gone without trace; and it was these sites that form the backbone of this study. A multi-disciplinary approach is adopted, taking an innovative maximalist approach in order to allow patterns to emerge that can be subjected to critical analysis. The study takes the Ordnance Survey National Grid NS map square as an arbitrary limit, and utilises the site record of the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, constructing a large database of sites, a digital mapping programme (ArcView), place-name, historical and archaeological data along with evidence from antiquarian authors. The resulting maps were then studied to identify patterns as described in the Methodology (Chapter 2). Chapters 3 and 4 examine the patterns produced when looking at two site types: court hills and holy wells. These site types are considered in respect of their proximity to other site types, in particular, early Christian sites such as parish churches and chapels. The data produced from studying holy wells in the landscape is interesting in their apparent proximity to chapels and parish churches; however, it was limited by the lack of dating evidence for these elusive sites. Court hills, proved to be more interesting and their repeated proximity to parish churches, which mirrored the few previous studies, implied the parish churches had been deliberately placed to the court hills. This, in turn, begged the question, why? In the concluding chapter, the study considers the possibility that court hills continued to be important in a landscape of overarching, general and specific lordship. Patterns indicated a tendency towards the siting of parish churches beside court hills in the royal demesne and provincial lordships, which was less frequent in those of specific lordships. Similarly, there is the possibility that this might represent a form of shire, thought to have been previously unattested in the west of Scotland.